Cosmic Musings and ColdFusion

The Apotheosis of Cruz

It was in Ted's power to lay claim to the shutdown, to the default. He had the power of veto, to make his claim, to stay his course of obstruction and chaos.

When all eyes were on him, when his name was on every commentators breath on every news channel, when he was the lynchpin of the mob, when he acheived what he so eagerly sought - the complete attention of the the nation - Ted Cruz demurred. Ted Cruz proved himself a coward.

In the end, he did not have the will to claim responsibility for all the damage, the suffering, the humiliation he caused. Instead, he will settle for a quiet 'no', a final vote to keep government shut and send America into economic chaos. A pathetic and useless end.

No senator in recent memory has engendered such overt hatred and dismay as Cruz. No political personality has been so transparently self-serving. Neither Congress, the House and the Senate, even Tea Party conservatives, will trust him with anything. When this continuing resolution needs renewing, and the debt ceiling needs raising, no one will seek Ted Cruz's council. He has betrayed friend and foe.

Maybe he can rehabilitate himself with the hard, unglamorous work of legislating, though I think it's not something that interests him. He will continue to look for the 'hook', the easy lever to power and notariety. However, the memory of the Senate is longer than that of the public. In that body, where politess and political comity count for much more than effusive personality, he will not be forgiven.